Princess Leia Organa (Yavin) - TVC - Basic (VC150)

Celebrate the legacy of Star Wars, the action-and-adventure-packed space saga from a galaxy far, far away, with this collection of premium, highly-detailed 3.75-inch scale figures and vehicles. (Each sold separately. Subject to availability.)

No one was more surprised than us to discover all of the updates made to The Vintage Collection’s Princess Leia Organa (Yavin) figure. But before we get into the figure, perhaps we should address the numbering sequence change as well. Although early samples shipped with the VC164 number, Princess Leia Organa (Yavin) will soon be placed at VC150 to fill in the missing slot for the “canceled” Darth Revan figure (which should be coming sometime in the future unless Hasbro canceled the plans for the all-new sculpt in the works). In our opinion, Hasbro should have kept Princess Leia Organa (Yavin) at VC164, and then used the VC150 number for the next retailer exclusive. It’s much easier to renumber a “one-off” figure instead of messing with the sequence in a wave of figures. When you look back on this action figure, it’s quite astounding to see all of the turmoil she went through to get out to the public. Originally planned for The Black Series [Phase II] line, Hasbro ran into production difficulties with the figure’s soft-goods, and ultimately canceled the figure altogether. The collecting community then felt anxiety. The figure was then relegated as a Walmart exclusive because Walmart took over that format beginning in the Fall of 2015. So Princess Leia Organa never got an opportunity to get released into the mainstream, until now. Now retooled, repainted and placed in beautiful The Vintage Collection packaging, Princess Leia Organa (Yavin) looks better than ever thanks to incredible updates made by Hasbro.

Most importantly, Princess Leia Organa (Yavin) has an all-new head sculpt. At first glance, it’s a challenge to see, but careful inspection will show you that Hasbro opted for completely different tooling to make her as definitive as possible. They still utilized the top “hairpiece” from the original figure, but underneath, the head sculpt is all new and received the technologically advanced Photo Real paint operations. In your hands, Princess Leia Organa (Yavin) looks beautiful. But up close, photography will point out the heavy makeup she received as well as the imperfections of the Photo Real process. You’ll only be able to appreciate this figure in hand, so reserve your judgments about her until you own one. Also new for this release are the figure’s forearms. The original release came with swivel forearms, which were directly below the ball-jointed elbows. For this release, Hasbro omitted them, so the lower half of her arms are all-new as well. That’s a great deal of newness for an action figure that probably only needed a Photo Real update to meet our needs as a definitive action figure. Some will balk at less articulation for this figure, but those swivel forearms were a nightmare to wrestle with because they popped off every time you attempted to bend the elbows. We’re happy to see these updates implemented. The soft-goods “shawl” looks identical to the original release, but it comes installed on the figure a little bit differently and thus has a drape that is different too.

We also noticed some tooling differences in the lower portion of her torso; in addition, the lower hem of her gown is shaped differently, too. Perhaps most striking are the enhanced paint operations given to Princess Leia Organa (Yavin). The update is impressive. She appeared too pale with the original release, and now Hasbro gave her a skin tone that no longer looks like she is dead. For accessories, she comes with those above soft-goods “shawl” and a medal, which is presumably for Chewbacca (or Hasbro claimed as much at NYCC). As much as we appreciate the updates made to Princess Leia Organa (Yavin) and Luke Skywalker (Yavin) in The Vintage Collection, we’re more concerned why, after asking for years now, why Luke Skywalker (farmboy) and Princess Leia Organa (A New Hope main outfit) are not on Hasbro’s radar? Updates to both of these characters are essential for The Vintage Collection, and with all of the OTHER Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa 3.75” action figure updates Hasbro made in the last year, we hope and pray that the main Episode IV outfits for these characters are not too far away. The wait is grueling, and they’re essential characters in desperate need of updating. Meanwhile, fans of The Vintage Collection can and should enjoy Princess Leia Organa (Yavin). The figure is gorgeous. The card art is beautiful. And it’s heartwarming to see Hasbro pay homage to one of the greatest female heroes of our lifetime. And we don’t mean Princess Leia Organa. We mean Carrie Fisher.